A guide to visit Tbilisi (includes off-beat things)

I lived in Tbilisi for 7 months. And every time someone asks me why they should visit Tbilisi, I say:

I love Tbilisi because it has the perfect balance between something very exotic and traditional, yet it is European and Westernized enough to live in comfortably.

From traditional bazaars to craft beer scene growing daily, a perfectly-shaped Old City with colorful facades and wooden balconies, a great Communist heritage, epic cathedrals, lakes, and much, much more, Tbilisi is an absolutely great capital to visit.

Based on my experience in this city, I have written this comprehensive travel guide to visit Tbilisi in a 5-day itinerary, with a special mention of off the beaten track things to do in Tbilisi, as well as loads of travel tips, from transportation to my favorite restaurants in the city.

Get a copy of my Travel Guide to Georgia

This is just one city of Georgia, so if you really want to get deeper into the country, I strongly recommend you get my guidebook, as it contains several itineraries, all my personal travel tips and in-depth guides to 12 different regions. It contains everything you need to know to plan your trip.

Where to stay in Tbilisi

Hostel – Fabrika (My preferred choice) – Fabrika is a hostel built in a massive abandoned factory in the area of Marjanishvili, a pretty cool area where you find several cafés and hipster-like bars. It is kind of where the open-minded Georgians and expats hang out. They have both dorms and private rooms and host travelers of all ages.

Best Hotel –Stamba – Stamba is a really beautiful, relatively new hotel, located in downtown. The decoration is very rustic and it has a couple of independent boutiques and concept stores. They also have a very famous restaurant that is always stuffed with wealthy Georgians.

Best tours for visiting Tbilisi

This blog always tries to encourage independent travel but, if you are short in time, and want to travel comfortably, GetYourGuide offers a wide range of budget tours which can be booked with just one click and are always conducted by professional local guides.

So far, these are some of their most popular tours in and from Tbilisi:

Top places to visit in Tbilisi

Tbilisi Itinerary on day 1 – Exploring the Old Town, from Freedom Square to the Mother of Georgia

You should explore the beautiful Old Town when you visit Tbilisi on day 1.

On this Tbilisi travel guide, I have highlighted the most important landmarks in the map below but you should also wander around all the narrow alleys to discover the beautiful facades Tbilisi is famous for, as well as the many peculiar statues, churches, and synagogues.

Day 1 What to visit in Tbilisi – Map

1 – Freedom Square

Start your day in Freedom Square (or Liberty Square). This is the busiest spot in the city, the most used metro station and the square from where you can go in pretty much any direction.

During the Soviet Union, it used to be called Lenin Square and, where you see a golden statue of Saint George and the Dragon, there used to be a Lenin Statue which was pulled down shortly after Georgia got its independence in 1991.

2 – Pushkin street

From Freedom Square, go down to Pushkin street, where you will see the last remains of the Old City wall, as well as quite a few buildings with traditional facades. Then, turn right just before Ambassadori Hotel.

3 – The Puppet Theatre and the clock tower

This twisted and architectonically weird, but pleasant to the eyes building, is the most Instagrammable spot in the city. On the hour, a small window in the upper part of the tower opens with some creepy mannequins coming out from it.

Actually, this is one of my least favorite places to visit in Tbilisi, but not because of the building but the cheesy atmosphere.

I recommend, however, you sit at the terrace of Hangar Bar, a popular spot for expats despite its touristic location. They sell really cheap beers and you get a clear view of the building.

Everybody who visits Tbilisi likes to go to the Clock Tower

4 – Anchiskhati Church

After no more than 20 meters, you will see the 6th-century Anchiskhati Church, the oldest in the country. It contains some really nice frescoes.

5 – The Peace Bridge

If you continue straight, at some point you can turn left and see a sort of futuristic bridge called the Peace Bridge. It was built in 2010 to represent the transition from the dark past of Georgia to a more prosperous future. Some people don’t like because it looks too modern. I like it 🙂

The river that goes through the middle of Tbilisi is called the Mtkvari river (or Kura), and it flows 1,500km river from Turkey to the Caspian Sea, in Iran.

The Peace Bridge – It actually look like a sanitary towel

6 – Meteki Church

The iconic church that sits at the edge of the cliff is from the 13th century and it was built by a Christian Georgian King, but later served several purposes, from barracks to a jail, and a theatre. During the last years of the USSR, a group of Christian people launched a campaign to restore its original purpose as a Church.

The Church standing at the edge of the cliff is Meketi Church is one of the best places to visit in Tbilisi

7 – The sulfur baths

It is said that a Georgian King named Vakhtang, who lived in today’s Mtskheta in the 5th century, went hunting in this part of today’s Tbilisi when a wounded deer got miraculously healed after falling into a hot spring. He was so amazed by the curative properties of that place that he decided to move the capital from Mtskheta to Tbilisi.

This part of the Old Town has been home to several bathhouses since the 12th century and today, they are a must-visit, especially if you visit Tbilisi during the colder months.

In the old Georgian language, Tbilisi literally means ”warm place”, a name that originated after discovering the hot springs.

The sulfur baths and Meketi Church at the background are another of the great things to do in Tbilisi

8 – Jumah Mosque

This is one of the very few mosques in the world where Sunni and Shia Muslims pray together.

Built in the 18th century by the Ottoman Empire (but destroyed and rebuilt several times), with its mud-brick walls, the building is totally camouflaged among the facades of the Old City.

Pro Tip – For some reason, the viewpoint from where you get the best perspective of the city is barely known for by most travelers. It is exactly here: 41.685942, 44.811485.

Can you spot the mosque? You can’t miss this viewpoint when you travel to Tbilisi

9 – Take the cable car to Narikala Fortress

When you travel to Tbilisi, one of the highlights is going up to Narikala Fortress before sunset, from where you can enjoy amazing panoramic views of the city.

You could actually walk but, if you want to take the cable car, you need to go back to Rike Park (the park right across the Peace Bridge).

The fortress dates from the 4th century. It was built by the Persians but it has served similar purposes for the Umayyads, several Georgian Kings, and the Mongols.

The views are the highlight of anyone traveling to Tbilisi

10 – The Mother of Georgia

This massive 20-meter aluminum female statue is frankly impressive, and polemical, as well.

The glass of wine that she holds in her left hand represents Georgian hospitality towards foreigners, whereas the sword that she holds in her right hand represents hostility to foreign invaders, a message clearly referring to the Russians.

Tbilisi Itinerary on day 2 – From Sameba Cathedral to Station Square

When you visit Tbilisi on your second day, I recommend you explore the other side of the Kura river.

Day 2 What to do in Tbilisi – Map

Sameba Cathedral

Sameba Cathedral is an utterly tall Church, the tallest in the country and one of the largest Orthodox Churches in the world. It is not an old Church, however, as it dates from 2004 and was built to commemorate the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus. Still, it is an impressive complex.

Aerial view of Sameba Cathedral. Compare its size with the tiny people

Avlabari neighborhood

Avlabari is the neighborhood just down from Sameba Cathedral. You won’t see any tourists here but a very local vibe, so different from the Old Town.

It is on your way to the next destination, so I recommend you check out its many traditional shops. By the way, this is the best place to buy churchkhela (the traditional candle-shaped candy).

Marjanishvili

Marjanishvili is the new trending neighborhood and the area I used to spend most of my time in, as it had a few bars, good restaurants, digital nomad cafés, and there weren’t many tourists around.

Here you will find a few abandoned factories from the USSR, an abandoned theater and traditional architecture.

Dezerter Bazaar

If you continue straight towards Station Square, you will bump into Dezerter Bazaar, the largest traditional market in the city, selling absolutely everything, from loads of coffee to fruit, electronics and everything you may think of. It is a chaotic bazaar in its most Middle Eastern style.

You can also find stalls selling grain coffee and buy an awesome espresso for 0.50GEL.

On your day 3 visiting Tbilisi, explore the new part of town by walking Rustaveli Avenue all the way to Vake. Then, go to the suburbs to visit a very unique monument and a massive lake.

Rustaveli is one of the main avenues in Tbilisi and was named after Shota Rustaveli, a Georgian poet considered the greatest contributor to Georgian literature.

Day 3 What to visit in Tbilisi – Map

The National Museum of Georgia– From the first pre-historic civilizations that inhabited the region until the invasion of the USSR, the National Museum of Georgia showcases all the layers of history of today’s Georgia.

I was mainly interested in visiting the Soviet museum but, unfortunately, most of the shown documents shown were in Russian and the English explanation was rather poor, so I didn’t learn much about it. You can, however, hire a guide or get an audio speaking guide. The entrance fee is 7GEL.

The Georgian Parliament

The Georgian Parliament is the place which is currently witnessing the transition from a religious, conservative state into a modern, progressive society. You should know that, in Tbilisi, two kinds of society coexist: the ultra-religious, homophobe wing and the open-minded young crowd who are demanding change.

Well, this Parliament is the place where this young crowd gathers for protesting every single week, like the massive electronic rave that was organized against the closing of Bassiani, a famous techno club that welcomes the LGBT community, in which the police organized a nonsensical, abusive and violent raid.

That peaceful protest was disturbed by Georgian religious nationalists and ended up with some crazy violence. I witnessed it myself.

The rest of Rustaveli Avenue

From checking the Opera House to fancy shops, some churches, and quite a few majestic buildings, Rustaveli is a pleasant place to walk through.

Vake

If you want to check out a different area, Vake is the neighborhood where the Georgian middle-upper class lives, hence where you will find the fanciest restaurants and shops, but also the most open-minded Georgians and still, traditional architecture.

I recommend you walk all the way until Mziuri Park, a beautiful park with very nice statues whose center is dominated by a really nice outdoor café where the young students gather for coffee or beers.

Chronicles of Georgia

The Chronicles of Georgia is a massive, odd monument visible from many places in the city and composed of giant pillars whose walls are decorated with some outstanding carvings that showcase different episodes of the history of Georgia and Christianity, like a representation of Saint Nino, the woman who brought Christianity to Georgia, and several Georgian Kings.

Next to the monument, there is a tiny church

Moreover, from here you get a double epic view, Tbilisi Sea on one side and the Soviet suburbs on the other.

How to get to the Chronicles of Georgia:

By metro: Get off at Guramishvili or Grmagele Metro Station and then walk for 20 minutes.

By taxi: By Yandex, from downtown, it should cost around 15GEL.

don’t miss the massive Chronicles during your Tbilisi trip

Tbilisi Sea

A nearly 10-kilometer artificial lake that serves as a reservoir, Tbilisi Lake is a different dimension from Tbilisi’s urban jungle.

It has plenty of beaches and picnic spots but I recommend you go on the area highlighted on the map, as it has a few pretty cool bars which are perfect places to end your day over a few beers. You can only come here by car.

Get a copy of my Travel Guide to Georgia

This is just one city of Georgia, so if you really want to get deeper into the country, I strongly recommend you get my guidebook, as it contains several itineraries, all my personal travel tips and in-depth guides to 12 different regions. It contains everything you need to know to plan your trip.

Map of the off the beaten track things to do in Tbilisi

Soviet Modernism and buildings

If you like Soviet relics, Tbilisi has a great offering of Communist Heritage which doesn’t appear in any Tbilisi travel guide but most importantly, it seems to be one of the pioneers of Soviet Modernism, an artistic movement that flourished during the last decades of the USSR and mainly consisted of buildings with weird shapes and lots of murals.

Soviet architecture seems to have its momentum among travelers who like to get off the beaten track and Tbilisi will not disappoint you.

Bank of Georgia Headquarters

Built by the Soviets in the 70s to serve as the Ministry of Highway Construction, this piled-brick, unique and extravagant building was later acquired by the Bank of Georgia. You can’t enter inside but seeing it from outside is the best part.

Such a peculiar building for a national bank’s headquarters

Soviet Murals & statues

There is a large collection of Soviet murals and statues all over the city. I have highlighted 3 of them on the above map but you can check all the locations on this link. These are the location of my 3 favorite ones:

Wedding Palace

Another example of extravagant Soviet Modernism, this cathedral-shaped building was built as a wedding palace. Later, it was purchased by a wealthy Georgian and today, it is leased for private events.

Triple Soviet Block

Not part of the Soviet Modernism movement but for Soviet architecture lovers, this is an absolutely impressive piece and one of the best places to visit in Tbilisi.

It consists of three massive Soviet, concrete buildings connected by a metal bridge from where you get stunning views of Tbilisi’s Communist skyline.

If you like Soviet stuff, you are going to love this shit – Tbilisi travel guide

The bridge is crossed quite often, as it is the only way to access the upper part of the neighborhood on foot. You can go up, no problem. The elevator works with coins (like most elevators in this area).

Soviet blocks

The Soviet cable car that takes you to Turtle Lake

If you think the cable car that goes all the way up to Narikhala fortress is too modern, and boring, then I recommend you take the one in Vake that takes you straight to the Turtle Lake.

It is one of those tuna can-shaped, rusty boxes, not very stable, but as solid as any Soviet artifact/construction.

Abandoned hippodrome

An abandoned hippodrome today has become a place where Georgians come for a run or to hang out with their dogs. From here, you can also get a pretty cool view of Tbilisi’s Soviet skyline.

I lived 10 minutes away from this place, so used to come here for a run every couple of days.

Abandoned trains of Gostiridze

Right next to the train station of Gostiridze there are, literally, one hundred abandoned trains of all colors and some of them have been turned into houses which actual families live in.

the abandoned trains of Gostiridze

You can walk around the area, enter inside the trains and do whatever the hell you want. Even the people living in those trains didn’t tell me anything.

Inside the abandoned trains

Abandoned Cable Car Station of Rustaveli

Located downtown, in one of the fanciest spots in the city, but hidden among the buildings, you find this circular, abandoned building that used to serve as a cable car station until they shut it down due to an accident in which some people died.

Tbilisi underground Street Art

As you may notice, Tbilisi is packed with underground passages all over the city which, somehow, replace the crosswalks from the main streets.

These underground passages are actually pretty interesting to see because they are home to some sub-cultures, from musicians to traditional shops and, of course, pieces of very elaborated street art.

The two most impressive ones are the passages located down of Heroes Square and at the end of Pushkin Street (river side). Both places are highlighted on the map.

Underneath Heroe’s Square, there are several passages like this one

Lisi Lake

Not a very off-beat thing but still, a spot barely visited by most tourists. Lisi Lake is a tiny lake located in Sarbutalo, whose shores are filled with many bars and it is a popular meeting point among the young crowd who gather to have a bath or drink some beers.

A really cool place to spend the day.

Chinatown

I recommend visiting Tbilisi’s Chinatown to those people who have (a lot of) time and like weird, stuff because this place is really weird and obscure.

All right, Chinatown is a ghost mall, absolutely huge by the way, where you find weird stores, like a one selling souvenirs and clothes from Turkmenistan.

The shops are open and all people working are Chinese, yet, there is no one shopping and, in the outdoor part, you find super authentic Chinese restaurants always packed with Chinese.

It doesn’t make sense and it is a waste of money but Georgians say that it was built for money laundering purposes.

A super random Turkmen shop in Tbilisi

Transportation in Tbilisi

How to get from/to the airport

Bus – You can take bus #37 which goes from the airport to Freedom Square, right in front of the fancy mall. It costs 0.50GEL, like a single metro/bus ride.

Taxi – If you have Yandex (the Russian Uber), a taxi ride to the city center should cost around 20GEL (6-7€). If you don’t have the app, good luck bargaining the price with the taxi drivers. Their rates start at 30GEL and if they see you are a tourist, they may ask 50 or 60GEL.

Metro

The metro in Tbilisi consists of those very deep metro stations characteristic of the Soviet Union. There are two lines and they go to pretty much all the places I mentioned in the Tbilisi itinerary. One single ticket costs 0.50GEL, but remember to buy the metro card, which costs a few additional GEL.

Bus

Where the metro doesn’t go, you can take the bus and Google Maps tells you the bus number when you calculate the route. It works with the same metro card, but you can also buy single tickets in the bus.

Yellow mini-vans

The abundant yellow mini-vans are a faster alternative to the buses but they are more difficult to use because the signs are in the Georgian alphabet. A single ride costs 0.80GEL.

Taxi

As I said, download Yandex or Taxify (it is slightly more expensive). With these two apps, rides within the city cost 3 to 5GEL.

Cable Car

There are two functional cable cars, the one that takes you to Narikala fortress and the one that goes to Turtle Lake. Both work with the regular metro card.

Funicular

There is a funicular that takes you all the way up to Mtatsminda Park just behind Rustaveli. You need to buy a special card.

To go in those directions, you should go to the station located in Didube, where you also find a traditional bazaar worth checking out. Didube is also a metro station. A taxi from the city center would cost around 8GEL.

Bus station to Sighnaghi, Telavi, Yerevan

To go in these directions, the bus station is named Ortachala and this is the location: 41.675794, 44.834233. (By the way, buses and marshrutkas to Yerevan also leave from Didube and Station Square but I think in Ortachala you have more options. The closest metro station is Isani, 15 minutes away on foot.

Train Station

The train station is located in Station Square and the different lines connect Tbilisi with Batumi and go all the way up to Zugdidi and everything in between. You can also take a train to Yerevan and Baku. Tickets can be purchased at the station itself, but you can also book in advance on this website.

A traditional bakery in Didube Station

Where to eat in Tbilisi

This section focuses on my favorite restaurants in Tbilisi. For a detailed explanation of Georgian food, remember to check my travel guide to Georgia.

Mid-range restaurant (My favorite) – Culinarium Khasheria – The chef is a lady who used to live in different parts of Europe and then she opened this restaurant serving traditional food with a modern touch. It has a great selection of local wines as well. By the way, the restaurant is located in a very touristy area and, for this reason, you are likely to see some tourists but there are many locals as well and, in any case, several Georgians recommended this place to me.

Mid-range restaurant – Shavi Lomi– An outdoor, very quiet restaurant at the heart of Marjanishvili serving traditional food. All the Georgian food on the menu is great and I recommend you get gobi as a starter.

Fancy restaurant – Barbarestan – The fanciest restaurant in town serving local, high cuisine. In my opinion, it is a bit overrated but that it is because you also pay for the excellent service and the setup.

Local budget restaurant – Mapshalia – For just a few laris, this traditional local eatery is very authentic and barely discovered by travelers.

Best Khachapuri Adjaluri – Retro – This restaurant was right next to my apartment and the locals told me that they serve one of the best Khachapuri Adjaluris (boat-shaped bread with cheese) in town.

Best Khinkali and traditional food – Shemoikhede Genatsvale – Also pretty cheap and not discovered by travelers, this is the best budget restaurant to taste the largest variety of traditional food and many locals claim that they serve some of the best khinkalis.

Try to avoid Machakhela – A popular Georgian chain which has restaurants all over the city. Seriously, they have 30 or 40, and always in the most convenient locations. They tend to be busy but the food is average compared to the restaurants from the list, so don’t go there.

Where to drink in Tbilisi

These are some of the bars I used to go drinking:

Amodi – Local vibe and good for both beers and dinner. This bar is located on the upper part of the Old Town, so you get a pretty panoramic view of the city.

Bauhaus – Outdoor bar located in Daedena Park and a place where you can be drinking beer from early afternoon to 4 or 5am. It is always filled with locals.

Fabrika – Fabrika was my favorite after-work place. Great atmosphere and several bars to choose from.

Warszawa – When you don’t know where to go, you go to Warszawa to have some quick shots. You will recognize it because there are always groups of people standing and drinking outside of it.

Dive Bar – This is like an institution in Tbilisi. They serve cheap, craft beer and the people are a mixture of regular expats and cool Georgians.

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4 comments

wow, I wish you had published this earlier, as I just went to Tbilisi last week.
Anyways, what a great guide to Tbilisi.
Sadly, I didn’t visit any of the of the off the beaten track places, even though I passed by that station Gostiridze on my way to Didube 🙁
Question: you said you lived there. Did you rent an apartment on Airbnb or what did you do? I just found the Airbnb apartments to be quite pricey.

Hi Marc, we rented it through a local website named place.ge. It was difficult because many of the agents didn’t speak english but we found a few who did. We paid 300USD for a 1-bedroom apartment in Sarbutalo. Pretty good and you could sign a 6-months contract. The people I met who rented it through Airbnb paid doubler than us.

We’ve been in Tbilisi for 2 months so far and love all your suggestions of things to see and do. We did, however, get arrested while walking through the abandoned trains so anyone hoping to see them should keep that in mind. The police weren’t too bad and just made us delete our photos but it was a bit nerve wracking being escorted to the station…